Filter



(No Model.)..

J.' M. WELLS.

FILTER. No. 563,523. Patented July 7, 1896.

. Ill, c

. m m l H UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

JAMES M. VELLS, OF PEORIA, ILLIGIS.

FILTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent No. 563,523, dated July7,1896.

Application filed April 25, 1895. Serial No. 547,194. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom t may concern.:

Be it known that I, JAMES M. W'ELLS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Peoria, in the county of Peoria and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and-useful Improvements in Filters; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, which will enable others skilled inthe art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in lters, bymeans of which a very efficient device is provided for that purpose.

More particularly my invent-ion relates to a filter adapted in itsconstruction to practically apply the principles of capillary attractionin performing its filtering function.

My invention consists, essentially, of the provision, in connection witha reservoir or tank divided into compartments, of a floating caseconstructed to contain absorbent material and to provide for sufficientbuoyancy to enable the same to float upon the liquid in the reservoir,of a suitable d uct leading from said case7 of a hollow ring connectedwith said case, of a steam-coil, and of other details of constructionhereinafter more particularly enumerated.

That my invention may be more fully understood, reference is had to theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical section throughmy filtering device. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same when the lid` isremoved. Fig. 3 is asection through line :r x of Fig. l. Fig.V 4 is adetailed view showing the inlet-duct. Fig. 5 is a detailed view showingthe construction of the inner case of the iioat. Fig. 6 is a detailedview showing the outside ring of the floating case.

In the figures, A refers generally to the main tank or reservoir, whichis divided into the compartments B and C by the partition D, the saidreservoir being provided with a suitable lid, as shown in the drawings.

E is a circular case open at the top and provided with the outlet-tube eat the bottom portion thereof.

Y F is a cylinder closed at the top, and is provided with theperforation f around the cirsaid case E, and is also caused to bear overthe edge of case E and down a short distance on the outside thereof, andup against the inner case of ring G, thus providing a siphonformed bodyof absorbent material.

t t' are metal strips, one end of each being connected, respectively,with the case E, and

the ring G and the two stops being connected at intermediate pointswhere they overlap and are secured together by means of a suitable boltor other securing device, so as to provide for a shifting of the stripswith relation to each other to cause a longer or shorter reach, as maybe desired.

' L is a flexible tube connected with the tube e of case E at oneextremity and connected with the tube n, projecting upwardly from theopening` in the partition D, which divides the reservoir intocompartments, as shownin Fig. l.

K is an inlet-duct, open at both top and bottom, the lower portionthereof extending almost to the bottom of compartment C, the upperportion of the inlet-duct flaring outwardly, and is provided with aperforated strainer 7e to catch the coarser deposits in the and openingoutof the lower compartment therein and is provided with a suitable capor cover for closing said opening.

d is a vertical guide-rib on the' side of the compartment C.

g g are clips on the side of ring G, which ICO match with the guide d,and the duct K, which serves as one of the guides, as shown'in thedrawings.

In constructing my filter, I have sought to overcome many objectionsthat are legitimately chargeable against filters now in use and relatingparticularly to complications in constructions and inefficiency inoperation. In my filter I obtain the very essence of simplicity,inasmuch as I simply use the ordinary tank and divide it into two parts,forming an upper and lower compartment, and in the upper compartmentsimply provide a float carrying absorbent material in such relation tothe surface of the liquid contained in the upper compartment, throughthe said absorbent material and case and through a suitableconducting-pipe and into the lower compartment of the tank, into whichit will be deposited, in a perfectly pure condition, the absorbentmaterial having separated all the foreign matter of every kind andcharacter from the liquid.

In applying my filter for practical uses, the several parts thereofhaving been arranged within the main compartment substantially in themanner shown in the drawings, the liquid is poured through the strainerlo and passes down through the duct K and into the lower part ofcompartment C, and any foreign matter that has not already been caughtby the strainer will be deposited in the lower portion of saidcompartment, the clearer and purer portions of the liquid occupying thespace above. The case, as shown in the drawings, lled with the absorbentmaterial, is caused to float upon the surface of the liquid, as shown inFig. l, and the liquid will be conducted, as shown by the arrows,through the absorbent material into the case E, from thence through theperforations into the cylinder F, and from thence through the tube .Iinto the compartment B. When the weather is such as to cause any liquidbeing filtered, as oil, to become thick, which would have a tendency toretard the capillary action of the filter, steam may be injected throughcoil I into the ring J, which will warm the body of the oil and renderthe same susceptible to capillary action, and any accumulations ofwater, resulting from condensation of steam, passing through the hollowring J may readily be drawn off through the iiexible tube L.

I do not desire to coniine myself to the eX- act construction of fioatshown in the accompanying drawings, nor to the exact arrangements of theparts which I have shown, but desire that I may be enabled to modify theconstruction, following, of course, substantially the lines laid downand suggested in this application.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

l. In a filter the combination with a receptacle for containing liquidof a buoy or float consisting of a pan, provided with a duct leadingtherefrom to a separate receptacle, a capillary-acting absorbentmaterial carried within said pan and bearing over the edge thereof, anda hollow ring carried around the pan and bearing against the absorbentmaterial, for assisting in maintaining the said pan upon the surface ofthe liquid, all substantially as described and shown.

2. In a filter the combination with a pan carried within theliquid-receptacle thereof and provided with a suitable duct leadingtherefrom to a suitable receptacle or a separate compartm ent, andfilled with capillary-acting absorbent material, the same being causedto overlap and extend down over the outside of said pan, of a hollowring to which the said pan is connected and is supported thereby in sucha manner as to cause the same to float upon the surface of the liquidand a tube connecting the hollow ring with a steam-inlet pipe into theliquid-receptacle, all substantially as described and shown.

3. In a filter the combination with a filtercase divided into twoseparate compartments, one above the other, of a buoy or floatconsisting of a pan submerged in the liquid in the upper compartment ofsaid case and provided with a suitable duct leading therefrom to thelower compartment, a capillary-acting absorbent material or materialsfilled within the said pan, overlappin g the upper edges and extendingdown upon the outside thereof, so as to be immersed in the liquid withinwhich the pan is submerged and a suitable air-chamber supported inconnection with said pan to facilitate the floating of the same, wherebythe capillary-acting absorbent will conduct the liquid from pointswithout the pan through the absorbent material into the pan, from whichit will flow through the duct provided in the receptacle below, allsubstantially as described and shown.

4. In a filter, the combination with the main filter-case A, dividedinto two compartments, B and C, of a buoy or ioat carried upon thesurface of a liquid contained in compartment (l, consisting of the panE, the capillary absorbent material H carried within said pan andbearing over the edge thereof and the open ring Gr, bearing around thepan and supported and suitably connected therewith, and the duct Jconnecting the pan E with the compartment B whereby the pan will becaused to float upon the surface of the liquid and the capillary-actingabsorbent bearing without the pan will be immersed in the liquid withinthe compartment C and by capillary action the liquid will be conductedinto the pan and from thence through duct J, into compartment B below,all substantially as described and shown.

5. In a iilter, the combination with the pan E, provided with theoutlet-tube e therefrom leading through tube J to a separate receptacle,and the perforated partition F therein for IOO IIO

containing an absorbent material, designed to lill the space betweenthe'side of the pan and the partition and lap over the edge of the panand extend down on the outside some distance, and the hollow ring Gconnected with said pan by means of strips z', z', provided with theflexible tube I, opening into the hollowring and connected with asteam-inlet pipe opening into the filter-case, all substantially asdescribed and shown.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES M. VELLS. l/Vitnesses:

WV. V. TEFFT, N. A. WooDsoN.

